“A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.” — Max Lucado

“Never think of yourself as average… You just have to get that word ‘average’ out of your vocabulary.” — Donald Trump

“If you are filled with pride, then you will have no room for wisdom.” — African Proverb

“I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying .” — Nelson Mandela

Amateur Radio

First amateur radio in geosynchronous orbit will aid disaster communications — Researchers at the Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology are preparing to send an amateur radio transponder into a geosynchronous orbit in 2017. “Seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, a new ham band will be available for the Americas,” said Robert McGwier, a research professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Hume Center’s director of research. “It will allow rapid deployment to disaster areas and support long-haul communications for first responders.”

Philippine Hams Team Up to Confront Back-to-Back Typhoons — Philippine Amateur Radio Association (PARA) Ham Emergency Radio Operations (HERO) network volunteers were ready for Super Typohoon Haima, which struck the northeastern Philippines on October 19 with winds peaking prior to landfall at more than 180 MPH — a category 5 storm. Roberto Vicencio, DU1VHY, reported that HERO had already activated its net on 7.110 MHz for an earlier category 3 storm, Typhoon Sharika, which hit Luzon Island before moving west and weakening. But the powerful Haima forced thousands of residents to flee. More than a dozen deaths in the Philippines were blamed on the storm.

What did you do to prep this week?— Well, folks, here we are again. We have been blessed with another week to prep before TEOTWAWKI and I hope that everyone has used that time to do something. I see a lot of folks commenting in past segments of this thread saying that they didn’t do anything during the week because they didn’t have any money. Well, you can do a lot without money like learning skills, getting into better physical condition and planning future projects.

CERT / Preparedness

Prepare for Home Fires — One of the most important reasons to have an Emergency Survival Kit / Bug Out Bag is to prepare for home fires. Why? Because in only a matter of minutes a small flame can turn into a raging house fire, and you and your family may only have seconds to escape. You wouldn’t have time to grab anything that wasn’t already prepared near an exit. Home fires, more than any other thing we prepare for (other than a tornado) strike the fastest and pose the most significant threat us.

Soak it up: China’s ambitious plan to solve urban flooding with ‘sponge cities’ — Can the might of the Chinese government overcome complex needs and investor disinterest to deliver an ambitious programme to save China’s 450 million urban inhabitants from floods? Flooding causes more economic, social and humanitarian damage than any other natural disaster and has affected 2.3 billion people over the past 20 years, according to research from the Global Resilience Partnership. China has been particularly affected. This year saw the worst floods in the country since 1998. In July 150 people were killed in central and northern China after intense rainfall.

What You Need to Know About #FireSafetyMonth at the Red Cross — Every day, seven people die in the United States as the result of a home fire. That’s so many, that statistically speaking, there’s a very likely chance that someone may pass away before you finish reading this article. That’s why the American Red Cross has pledged to cut down the number of home fire related injuries and fatalities by at least 20% by 2020, by initiating the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign in 2014. Ever since, we’ve been visiting homes, educating families, and installing life-saving smoke alarms for absolutely no cost to renters and homeowners. As we observe October as National Fire Safety Month, let’s take a look at our progress.

Weathering the storm — How local governments coordinate emergency response and recovery for natural disasters. During the first four days after torrential flooding inundated West Virginia on June 23, 2016, just two full-time employees, one part-time employee and a radio technician worked feverishly to coordinate response efforts for Greenbrier County.

Christian / Religion

7 Reasons America Has Not Been Reached for Christ — There are over 300,000 Protestant churches in America. Virtually every city in the United States has an abundance of Bible-believing faith communities. Millions upon millions of Christians attend these churches and, yet, this country is not reached for Christ yet. Why?

Don’t Keep the Gospel to Yourself — Sometimes we need hard and harsh words to wake us up. Like a wife who says to her husband, “We need to see a counselor; I can’t do this anymore.” Or a doctor who says, “We need to operate right now,” or a firefighter who bangs on your door, yelling, “Leave everything; you need to evacuate immediately.” Sometimes the situation is too dire for gentle words.

What Good Can Come from Suffering? — “It’s never God’s will for his children to suffer.”I hear that statement frequently from both Christians and non-Christians as they interpret the character of God. Why would a loving God not want his children to be happy?I understand that reasoning. I too want to be happy. I don’t want my close relationships destroyed. Or my health ruined. Or my livelihood taken away.

5 Mistakes Young Leaders Don’t Need to Make — And neither do seasoned leaders So who doesn’t make mistakes as a leader? We could talk about dumb mistakes, like the time I decided to use gas to start a bonfire in my backyard…as in a whole can of gas…as in me almost blowing up my family and neighborhood in the process. But chances are you’re too smart to do that. Instead, let’s talk about some other true stories that could possibly help you. I’ve been a senior pastor for 18 years. We’ve seen some incredibly good things over those 18 years. Our church has grown immensely and we’ve got an unbelievable team of people who have rallied around a common mission, vision and strategy. But I’ve also made my fair share of mistakes in those almost two decades. I’m sharing my top five mistakes with you in the hopes that you can avoid the same pitfalls I fell into. Along with each mistake, though, I’ll also share some strategies that can help you avoid them.

News

Analysis: Why are Russian warships in British waters? — (CNN)Russia is believed to be sending a massive naval task force, with warships from its Northern, Baltic and Black Sea fleets, to the Mediterranean Sea in preparation for what could be a major escalation in the conflict in Syria.

Obama administration confirms double-digit premium hikes for healthcare — Premiums will go up sharply next year under President Obama‘s healthcare law, and many consumers will be down to just one insurer, the administration confirmed Monday. That will stoke another Obamacare controversy days before a presidential election. Before taxpayer-provided subsidies, premiums for a midlevel benchmark plan will increase an average of 25% across the 39 states served by the federally run online market, according to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services. Some states will see much bigger jumps, others less.

Russia and US are on BRINK OF WAR says Russian Lt General — President Vladimir Putin has challenged American international hegemony with threats to retaliate against the US if the Aleppo bombing’s sanctions go ahead. Military and foreign policy experts in Moscow believe Russian President Vladimir Putin and western leaders are headed for a dangerous stand-off. Lt Gen Evgeny Buzhinsky, head of the think tank PIR centre, said: “If we talk about the last Cold War, we are currently somewhere between the erection of the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile crisis.”

Russia publishes image of ‘Satan 2’, the missile that could ‘wipe out Texas — Russia has declassified the first ever image of its new thermonuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile, the RS-28 Sarmat. In May this year Sputnik, a Russian publication aligned with the Kremlin, claimed the missile could carry a payload capable of wiping a landmass “the size of Texas or France”.

Russia, US move past Cold War to unpredictable conflict — Washington (CNN)It’s not a new Cold War. It’s not even a deep chill. It’s an outright conflict. US-Russia relations have deteriorated sharply amid a barrage of accusations and disagreements, raising the stakes on issues ranging from the countries’ competing military operations in Syria, disputes over Eastern European independence and escalating cyber breaches.

U.S. says transfer of internet governance will go ahead on Oct. 1 — The U.S. will go ahead with its plan to hand over oversight of the internet’s domain name system functions to a multistakeholder body on Oct. 1, despite fierce opposition from some lawmakers and advocacy groups. data analytics trends Buyer’s guide explores data analytics software Download the 36-page report, which puts 10 leading business intelligence products under the microscope. Read Now The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), under contract with the U.S. Department of Commerce, operates the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) which enables the operation of the internet domain name system (DNS). These include responsibility for the coordination of the DNS root, IP addressing and other internet protocol resources.

While You Were Focused on The Walking Dead, NATO and U.S Marines Prep for Russian War — As the lies continue to circulate over the threat of Russia, it will go down in history as the start of WWIII. While everyone was glued to The Walking Dead Last Night, America prepped for war. TFT has the full story: Posturing about a fictitious Russian threat will be remembered in later times for bringing about World War III — particularly as that narrative has allowed NATO and the United States to extensively bolster troops and military equipment along Russia’s Eastern and Northern European borders.

Programming / Software Development / Technology

10 Helpful Tools for Web Developers – October Edition — As a web developer, you are always in search of new tools. Not only do fresh solutions and plugins assist in sorting out mundane problems and transforming the daily routine into a pleasant pastime but they also let you keep up with the community and implement modern features without the hustle and bustle, enriching interfaces and enhancing the workflow. They are also great time-savers; nowadays time means money so that they are profitable as well. Today we have prepared two hands full of helpful instruments that were created to lend a hand to fellow web developers and aid in their work.

Feds subpoena, gag encrypted chat firm Open Whisper Systems — Open Whisper Systems, the brainchild of cryptographer Moxie Marlinspike, has published the results of an unsealed subpoena set against the company — and how little US law enforcement received for their trouble. The company is the developer of encrypted messaging application Signal, recommended by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. The technology in Signal is also used in other services including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Google Allo.

How Will NY Courts Handle Encrypted Communications? — Encryption may soon be a recurring challenge for civil litigators. Encryption appears to be growing across electronic devices that create, store and transmit electronic information. Public awareness of government surveillance and perceived invasions of privacy highlight the existence of encryption technologies and the perceived ability to use encryption to protect privacy. The conflict between privacy and law enforcement needs has been played out in disputes between the U.S. Department of Justice in the Northern District of California and the Eastern District of New York earlier this year. See, e.g., J.H. Koo, “Encryption Called Essential for Privacy, Security, Economy,” 16 DDEE 246 (2016); J. DaSilva, “4th Amendment Should Balance Safety, Privacy: Panelists,” 16 DDEE 287 (2016). Yet, the same devices that can be at issue in criminal investigations may well contain electronically stored information (ESI) relevant and therefore discoverable in civil litigation in New York state as well as federal courts. What arguments might be advanced in support of and in opposition to discovery requests for encrypted ESI? How might a court rule?

Hey, Siri and Alexa: Let’s talk privacy practices — A growing throng of Americans revel in being able to call out “What’s the weather?” to their Amazon Echo or “Is ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ on?” to their Samsung SmartTV and get the immediate answers. But these first forays into a world where digital servants always listen for our commands raise red flags for privacy and security experts, who see too many ways it could all go horribly wrong.

Mobile example links — One thing I neglected to do was give link to examples in my presentation at ColdFusion Summit 2016. Below are links to some examples and the mobile documentation.

Social Media / Content Creation

11 Ways to Create Irresistible Headlines That Readers Love — One of the easiest ways to get people to read your articles or blog posts is to write irresistible headlines. It’s not enough to just write headlines that sound clever. They have to get clicks. How do you write headlines that get clicks? Well, you’re in the right place to find that out. Here are 11 ways to help you write headlines that get clicks.

3 Social Media Tactics for Businesses That Struggle With Social — Are you struggling to connect with your audience on social media?Do you feel like social media won’t work for your business?It’s not easy to put every business on social media, but the right approach can help even the most difficult cases reach their customers.